Structure and sorption properties of a zeolite-templated carbon with the EMT structure type

An ordered microporous carbon material was prepared by the nanocasting process using the EMC-2 zeolite (EMT structure type) as a hard template. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed long-range ordering in the material that resulted from the negative replication of the host template. The carbon porous network replicating the zeolite structure was modeled by overlapped spherical voids with diameters determined from the XRD pattern that displayed up to six distinct peaks. The surface delimiting the 3D interconnected porosity of the solid has a complex morphology. The pore size distribution calculated from the XRD-derived structural model is characterized by a maximum at 1.04 nm related to the long-range-ordered microporous network. Complementary studies by immersion calorimetry revealed that most of the porosity was characterized by a size above 1.5 nm. These porous features were compared to data resulting from classical analysis (DR, DFT, BET, etc.) of the N2 (77 K) and CO2 (low and high pressure, 273 K) physisorption isotherms. The limitations of these approaches are discussed in light of the pore size distribution consistently determined by XRD and immersion calorimetry measurements.